Jennifer Lawrence Is Leading the Pack in the New ​X-Men: Apocalypse​ Poster

Here's hoping her placement is no accident.

Exciting news for female superheroes (and women in general) everywhere: Jennifer Lawrence is front and center in the new X-Men: Apocalypse posters. Starring alongside her in the film is really a who’s who of big names including James McAvoy, Evan Peters, Sophie Turner, Nicholas Hoult, Tye Sheridan, and Kodi Smit-McPhee.

But why does her placement matter, do you ask? The news of Jennifer’s close-up comes after a tumultuous year for women in film. After Sony emails were leaked, it was revealed that many actresses — including Jen herself — were being paid significantly less than their male counterparts. The X-Men star took a stand on the issue and wrote an open letter to industry execs for Lena Dunham’s feminist newsletter, Lenny Letter. The essay, titled “Why Do I Make Less Than My Male Costars?” received national attention, with industry execs promising to end the wage gap.

Whether Jennifer’s front and center placement was intentional or not remains unclear, but it definitely makes a statement. Leading ladies are no longer stuck with romantic comedies and period pieces (pun sort of intended), they’re also the stars of action films. The fact that Jennifer — who also carried one of the biggest action movies of the past year — is headlining the new X-Men movie is a pretty big indication that things are moving forward in the right direction.